Wu's Daily Selected Crypto News - KuCoin Has Reached a Settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ)

1. KuCoin Reaches Settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ)

KuCoin has reached a settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ). Meanwhile, KuCoin's founders Chun Gan and Ke Tang have also reached settlement agreements with the DOJ. According to the agreements, the DOJ agrees to drop all charges against the two founders upon fulfillment of specific conditions. As part of the settlement agreement, Michael announced his resignation from all positions related to KuCoin and its affiliates. The judge imposed a fine of approximately 113.00 million USD and seized 184.50 million USD. KuCoin will exit the U.S. market for at least the next two years.

2. Arizona Senate Finance Committee Approves "Strategic Bitcoin Reserve Bill"

The bill allows up to 10% of public funds to be invested in virtual currencies such as Bitcoin. The bill was co-sponsored by Wendy Rogers and Jeff Weninger and stipulates that the state's digital assets will be stored in secure segregated accounts. After passing the Finance Committee, Arizona's Bitcoin reserve bill will now be submitted to the Senate Rules Committee, which will set parameters for legislative debate and amendments. If approved by the full Senate, the bill will be sent to the House of Representatives for review. If the bill ultimately passes, Arizona will become the first state in the U.S. to invest public funds in Bitcoin.

3. Metaplanet Announces Plans to Raise 116 Billion Yen to Purchase Bitcoin

Japan's listed company Metaplanet announced it will issue 21 million shares of new stock subscription rights at a discount rate of 0% to raise approximately 116 billion yen (about 745 million USD) for further purchase of Bitcoin. This will become one of the largest Bitcoin purchasing financing plans in the history of the Asian stock market.

4. QCP: $BTC Stabilizes Above $102K, Bullish Sentiment Remains in Options Market

QCP analysis pointed out that DeepSeek's dominance in the App Store rankings triggered turmoil on Wall Street, with NASDAQ dropping 3% and Nvidia plunging 17%. The 2024 AI boom has driven up NASDAQ valuations, while increasing uncertainty for 2025, including Federal Reserve policies, movements of the Trump administration, and upcoming tech company earnings reports, could pose more downside pressure on risk assets. Affected by market risk aversion, crypto-related stocks were also hit hard. Nevertheless, $BTC stabilized above $102K, and bullish sentiment remains in the options market. This week may test whether $BTC can break free from its high correlation with U.S. stocks, especially in the context of a more favorable regulatory environment, which might present supportive factors.

5. Ledger Co-founder Kidnapped, One Finger Cut Off, Ransom Paid in Crypto

Ledger co-founder David Balland was kidnapped along with his wife at their home in central France on January 21, with more details disclosed. The kidnappers took the two to different locations and demanded a ransom of about 10 million euros in cryptocurrency. To exert pressure, the kidnappers cut off one of Balland's fingers and sent a video to another Ledger co-founder. French police rescued Balland in Châteauroux on January 22 after investigation and found his wife the next day. During the operation, 10 suspects were arrested. Balland is receiving treatment for his hand injury, while his wife was not injured but was traumatized. A portion of the paid cryptocurrency ransom has been tracked and frozen.